A Day In The Life Of The Twelve Kingdoms
by PhoenixBlade
Summary: A slice of life look at Youko and other characters in the Twelve Kingdoms.
1. My Kingdom For a Burger!

Because my sister and I decided to rewatch the whole series after buying it at an anime convention, I felt so... dissatisfied with how it ended...again. I'm not saying that I didn't like the ending, _far_ from it. I'm not happy that they never continued it, and the fact that Tokyopop shut down and Kodansha USA has no plans on continuing the translation of the rest of the books. So, because of that, I'm picking up from where they left off in the anime and from what I can get from Wikia's minor information from the novels. True, some details may not be correct, translation may be wrong and blah di dah, whatever. I'm gonna write this anyway!

There'll be a bunch of drabbles showing the daily lives of Youko and the other characters. The times when the drabbles take place won't be in order either and seeing as to how I can't keep track of dates well (chronology was-_is _not my best friend), please bear with me on that part. This fic will be based mostly off the anime and some off the novels or whatever info I can get from Wikia. Updates will be sporadic and random.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this!

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**A Day In The Life of The Twelve Kingdoms**

**_My Kingdom For A Burger!_  
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_By: PhoenixBlade_

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Disclaimer: 12 Kingdoms and all its awesomeness does not belong to me. They belong to Kodansha, Media Blasters, whatever remains of Tokyopop, Fuyumi Ono and other people who have rights to it. I have nada, nothing, zip, zero. I do, however, own this story so please don't steal it. This refers to every chapter from hereon out, the whole story itself, got that?

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**Terms you may/may not know**:

**Kei**:a kingdom to the east where Youko rules as its queen

**Hou**: a kingdom in the northeastern corner of the world, also where Shoukei is from

**Shoku**: are magical storms that connect the Twelve Kingdoms to the lands of Hourai (Japan) and Kan (China). The storms occur naturally, but are extremely damaging to the world it impacts.

**Hourai**: Japan

**Kirin**: are noble and holy creatures that are bound to and choose the ruler of each kingdom according to the will of Tentei, the Emperor of Heaven. They look similar to unicorns.

**En**: a neighboring kingdom to the north of Kei

**-sama**: suffix attached to a name to indicate that the person is someone of high nobility or royalty

**Taishi**: A title given to one of the three personal advisors to the Kirin and ruler, though they hold no real power. Serves as the Lord of the Privy Seal/Grand Preceptor.

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"Ohh! I can't take this! I'd give my kingdom for a hamburger!" moaned Youko, the queen of Kei, as she looked at the delicious assortment of food laid out before her.

A giggle erupted from the girl to her left. Shoukei, one of her royal scribes, was by far one of the most beautiful women in her palace. Many of the males in the palace vied for her attention, yet she only had eyes for one man (though he actually was more _half-_man to say the least), and she didn't even seem to realize it. Once a naïve and spoiled princess from the kingdom of Hou, she had shown her worth in helping Youko oust the corrupted ministers from her court.

"Youko! A queen shouldn't say such things like that!" scolded Suzu, one of her ladies-in-waiting, who sat to the right of her.

Along with Shoukei, Suzu had helped Youko in fighting in the civil war against her corrupted ministers. Like Youko, Suzu had been born in Japan. She came from a poor family and was sold off to a rich family to pay her family's debts, yet on the way to her new employer's home, she fell into a river during a Shoku. When she awoke, she found herself in the world of the Twelve Kingdoms. Though definitely older than the two other girls, she looked younger than the both of them. This was due in part to her receiving her immortality a year after arriving in this world, almost a hundred years before Youko's own arrival.

"I agree. Keiki would be most displeased to hear you say that," giggled the former princess.

Youko gave a sigh and chuckled. The girls often teased her when she did things that were "unbefitting of a queen," but they were her best friends, so she laughed it off. Yet being a queen was tough and left little time for her spend with them, so they would try to have dinner together as much as possible, like now. Sometimes, they would even have lunch together, that is, if the ministers let her out early and she had little work to do that day. It was during these times that she could forget that she was a queen and laugh along with them like young teenage girls.

"I suppose so. He'd probably give me a nice long lecture about it too," she sighed, "although the food here is delicious, I sometimes crave for the food back in Japan."

"Japan…?" asked Shoukei quizzically.

"From Hourai," replied the younger looking girl, who turned back to Youko, "By the way, what is a _hamburger_?"

"Oh, I forgot. They hadn't created hamburgers yet when you were brought here. Although it's called hamburgers, we usually call it burgers for short. They're patties made from ground beef and placed between two bread buns."

Her mouth began to water just thinking about it. She loved eating them when she was a child. Although her father didn't allow her to eat them, as they were greasy and unhealthy, her mother sometimes snuck them both out to go buy some. Her first bite into one made her toes curl with joy.

"It sounds… interesting," hesitated the beautiful girl.

"Hmm… Maybe I could ask Enki to bring some burgers back with him when he goes to Japan," considered the queen of Kei.

"Youko, I don't think you should ask the Kirin of En something like that…" Shoukei told her.

"Shoukei's right. The Kirin of En _is_ really busy." Suzu added.

She sighed in defeat, "You're probably right. Just wishful thinking. It tastes better fresh anyway…"

The two friends looked at her with slight guilty on their faces. They hadn't meant to make her depressed about it. Although Youko had gotten used to being a queen, more or less, and to this world, she still missed the modern conveniences and foods of her other world sometimes.

An _ahem_ from Gyokuyo, Youko's elderly handmaiden, took their attention.

"Pardon for my interruption, Youko-sama," she bowed slightly, "but I couldn't help but listen to your conversation."

Youko shook her head at her, "Oh it's fine, Gyokuyo. I don't mind if you join us in our conversations at all! Feel free to speak freely!"

"My thanks, Youko-sama," she bowed slightly again, "concerning your… _homesickness_ for the food from Hourai, might I suggest that you ask the Head Cook? It may be possible that he knows how to make it, as he used to cook foods from Hourai for the former Taishi. If you'd like, if you write down how to make it, I can deliver it to him and have him prepare it for you."

_That_ brought a smile to Youko's face, "You know, Gyokuyo, I'm so glad you never took my suggestion to return to the Ministry of Spring. It's times like these that I need someone like you, someone with a clear head."

An irritated _ahem_ from the other two girls took Youko's attention and she laughed hesitantly, "Oh come on you guys! I didn't mean it in that way!"

A short silence ensued before all four bursted out laughing.

"If Youko-sama would write down instructions on how to make it, I'm sure the cook can try to make some by tomorrow evening for dinner," Gyokuyo told her.

"Thank you, Gyokuyo! I'll hand it to you first thing tomorrow morning!" the queen beamed.

Seeing her face radiating with happiness, the other three in the room couldn't help but smile along with her. Soon, they were back to eating and conversing happily.

"You girls are going to love it! Usually, there's a layer of cheese placed between the patty and bun, as well as other things like onions, tomatoes and lettuce, _sometimes_ even bacon, which is delicious! I used to like eating mine with _lots_ of ketchup and mayonnaise in it! Oh! And there are also French fries on the side too, but we usually just call it fries. I usually order a large malt too, to dip the fries in it and eat it. Also…"

Needless to say, although the ladies knew little of what Youko was rambling on about, they listened on, drawn in by her excited chatter and joining in.

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I don't know why but I always come back to this series. There's just something really special about it. If for some reason you happen to be reading this fanfic without having read or seen the anime, GO READ/WATCH IT! It's really good! :)


	2. Bittersweet Cake

Hi hi! Sorry this took me almost a year to get this up. I meant to do it earlier, but uh... yeah, don't know what happened. *scratches head* Sorry? lol ANYWAY, I was in a writing rut, no idea what to write next on all fanfics, this included. I had the idea for this chapter for a while but just couldn't get it out into words, but well, almost a year later and here ya go! *laughs hesitantly* Well, please enjoy anyway!

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**A Day In The Life of The Twelve Kingdoms**

**_Bittersweet Cake_  
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_By: PhoenixBlade_

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**Terms you may/may not know**:

**Taiho**: the honourific title of a kirin. The kirin's official title is actually Saiho but out of respect, a kirin is referred to by their title of Taiho.

**Hourai**: Japan

**keeki**: cake. It is pronounced like keiki, but spelled Keeki in katakana.

**Kirin**: are noble and holy creatures that are bound to and choose the ruler of each kingdom according to the will of Tentei, the Emperor of Heaven. They look similar to unicorns.

**En**: a neighboring kingdom to the north of Kei

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"Ne, Keiki, did you know that your name also means cake?"

Her Taiho gave her a look that spoke volumes of how ridiculous he thought her question was to him, but said nothing.

She rose her hands up in defense, "Hey, I'm just saying that it also sounds like cake. People of the West, back in Hourai, called it cake, but in Japan, we call it keeki, sort of like your name."

Keiki gave an indignant sigh without turning from his pile of paperwork. Youko rolled her eyes at his dismissal and went back to her paperwork. A short period of silence ensued before Youko abruptly turned away from her work to speak again, earning another annoyed sigh from Keiki.

"It's really good, you know, cakes. The ones I've had here are phenomenal, don't get me wrong!" she exclaimed, "but when I was a little girl and still living in Hourai, I happened to get invited by a classmate and her friends to go to this café. Of course, I found out later that they were only allowed to go to the café because their mothers trusted me more than them…"

Keiki tried ignoring her and focusing more about a policy, that had somehow wormed its way into his paperwork, that all livestock must be painted red to honor the queen and her hair color. What an absurd policy!

"…anyway, we were ordering what we wanted and I saw a girl, at the table next to me, dig a spoon into her small round chocolate cake and I saw chocolate oozing from the middle! I ordered the same one as hers and when it came, I dove into it like a starving dog on a bone!"

"Your majesty," Keiki interrupted as he rubbed his temples in annoyance, "do not demean yourself by comparing yourself to an animal, especially one malnourished."

Youko rolled her eyes and waved her hand his comment, "Fine, fine. Anyway! It was so chocolate-y! Chocolate is usually very sweet, but that's because they use sugar to sweeten it, or else it'd come out too bitter if they didn't. This chocolate cake, though, was absolutely delicious! A bit bitter, but full of oozing, warm, sweet chocolate in the middle!"

Youko giggled at the memory, but Keiki, feeling that he was getting no work done with the stupid policy, which he did not let pass, and hearing his queen babble on about utter nonsense without getting her own work done when they were both so far behind, finally snapped.

"Your highness!" he barked at her, forcing her to stop in the middle of a laugh, "we are already _far_ behind on work and you cannot spare any more time on pointless pleasantries. You **must** focus on your work or I assure you, the guards _will _stop you from sneaking out of the palace the next time you go on another one of your adventures! Am I understood?"

Youko immediately shut her mouth and turned back to her paperwork, grumbling about stupid unicorns.

Keiki sighed again and grabbed the next paper. They worked in silence into the night, until Youko finally finished her last paper and stretched, trying to work out the stiffness in her joints for sitting and bending over her desk too long. She turned to Keiki to tell him that she was done, but instead of finding the Taiho hard at work, he was snoozing away on top of a stack of paper.

Although he had been rude to her earlier, she forgave him (though not too quickly) because that was how he was. It wasn't a surprise to her that his priorities were on work first and pleasure last, if any at all. There was a no-having-fun-while-you-work when it came to him. She'd been the same way once, but once becoming a queen, and being constantly lectured by the King of En to "let loose" once in a while, she began to learn to smile more and enjoy time spent with others that she could have in between her work. She'd only wish her Taiho could do the same, but he was so set in his ways that they argued from time to time about her duties and her time to herself. They were like an old bickering couple sometimes, it was funny.

Getting up, she grabbed the blanket on her chair and wrapped it around him to keep him warm. Just then, she noticed a puddle of drool on the paper his head was lying on, blotting out the ink. She held back a giggle and blew out the candle; making the room dark with only the moon's light to guide her. She'd deal with the rest of Keiki's work tomorrow after she woke up. He already helped her so many times on her backed up work. Now it was her turn to help him on his, regardless of duty or not.

Before she slid the door closed, she glanced once more at the snoozing Taiho and giggled softly. Yep, she was sure of it. He was like that chocolate cake she once had when she lived in Japan. A bit bitter, but once you got to the center; it was oozing with warmth and sweetness.

Smiling, she closed the door the rest of the way and made her way to her room for a good night's sleep.

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The idea of Keiki's name sounding like cake came from... well, too much thinking about the 12 Kingdoms and too much time to do it...in my head anyway. By the way, the cake I described is Chocolate Molten Lava Cake. Not bad, a bit bitter but too sweet for me actually (or could just be that the one I had that was too sweet). Still good either way!


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